05-19-10 Three days, back to blogging form

It was bike to work day.  I have my bike, but I don't have a pump.  I'll be biking to work soon though.  I's only .8 miles to the office.

8:00 was our Downtown Working Group.  This is an internal meeting of City Departments that meet weekly to keep the downtown effort coordinated.

9:00 Depart Directors Meeting.  We meet weekly to go through the various activities of the departments and also citywide issues like the budget.

10:30 We had a meeting with the folks from FUND, which is a nonprofit that helps to fix homes in urban Fresno neighborhoods.  We have a contract with FUND to renovate some homes in the Lowell neighborhood with federal Community Development Block Grant funds.  The program is for low income homeowners who have code violations, but need help funding the work.

11:00 We participated in a webinar put on by the International Economic Development Corporation.  The title was Economic Gardening.  This is the approach that we are using to help local businesses, as opposed to putting our resources into attracting businesses.

12:00 I was on the Bill McEwen radio talk show.  Bill and I discusses the Downtown Neighborhoods Plan charrette that took place last week.

1:00 I grabbed a quesadilla at the Mexicatessan at the Galleria.

1:30 I had a meeting with the Raisin Administrative Committee which moved into downtown this month.  We met to discuss their parking needs for their board meetings.  We also got a tour of their beautiful new offices in the Civic Center project.  The employees, who were reluctant to move downtown, are now thrilled with their new digs.

4:00 I toured a building on Broadway.  Afterward I had a tour of Reza Assemi's Broadway Lofts project.  It is coming along.  This will be a completely different housing option for folks who would like urban living.

5:00 I took the mutt to the dog park for a quick stretch and romp.  He decided to lay in the mud, so he got an impromptu bath.

6:30 I met with a couple of entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a business downtown.  We discussed potential locations and business opportunities downtown.

Back at home at 8:00 for some blogging and housecleaning.